A/N: And onward with the story! Get excited for this chapter's POV. Enjoy folks.
Disclaimer: The business school course I feature in this chapter is that of Georgetown, not one I've created. It sounds ridiculously interesting!
The Drug Game
Chapter 12
All or Nothing
Sesshoaru's POV
"Inuyasha, sit down. You're drunk. And overreacting."
Inuyasha paced back and forth around the kitchen, tripping over his own feet every so often. "No, Sesshomaru," he stage-whispered. "I won't fucking calm down because I saw Naraku. And he saw—SPOKE—to me. What the fuck is he doing back in town?"
I stood slowly from my seat and stood in front of him. He stopped pacing and stared up at me. "Inuyasha. Sit down. You are drunk. And overreacting. Don't make me tell you again."
He growled and plopped at the table. I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. I hadn't had to do this in years, maybe since Inuyasha was 13 and wasted, stranded at some party he was too young to be attending. But here we were again, five years later, and I was still rescuing Inuyasha when he was in trouble.
I placed the bottle in front of him and took my seat. "Drink. We'll have to meet with father tomorrow to discuss you seeing Naraku, and I don't want you to have a hangover."
He grabbed the bottle, eyeing me suspiciously the entire time. Before he drank any, he paused and asked, "What's in this?"
"Inuyasha." I was tired.
"Seriously! A—are you tryna poison me? Is there some kinda laxative in this shit? Why are you tryna help me?"
"Because, you imbecile, I have priorities, and proving to father what a fuck up you are is secondary to Naraku's return to our territory. Nothing good can come of this."
Inuyasha took a huge gulp then pointed at me, "I knew I wasn't overreacting."
"You just were going to wake up the entire house, you inconsiderate bastard."
"Sorry, fuck. I haven't drank in a long time," he grumbed, drinking more water. I raised a brow at his words. He had apologized. I was taken aback, but chose not to say anything about it. It was the liquor that made him vulnerable and apologetic, I assumed.
"Go to bed, Inuyasha, and in the morning we'll talk about Naraku and how to approach Father."
"Yeah, alright." He stood from his chair and headed towards the exit, but then turned around, and for a second he looked like he was 4 again, innocent and wide-eyed and ridiculously naïve to the realities of his surroundings, "Thanks bro. I… appreciate it."
"I'll see you in the morning," I responded curtly, and he left.
I sat unmoving in my chair, allowing my mind to wander, a task I rarely did. I typically was focused, my mind set on a goal and only on achieving it. But seeing Inuyasha so weak and childlike made me remember our childhood, and the responsibility our great grandfather put in my hands.
Eight years apart in age, Inuyasha was always the favorite when we were younger. He was outgoing, capable of making friends wherever he went, but also cunning, tricking those new friends into giving him whatever he wanted. My father saw him as an asset with all the potential to take his place, while my mother loved his kind nature that he seemed able to turn on and off like a light switch.
Their obvious love for my younger brother never bothered me. He was the baby, and at 12, I understood that the youngest often would be showered with more attention. However, it was the attention Inuyasha received from our great grandfather that truly was upsetting.
Great grandfather was my idol—he was everything I wanted to be. Cold, calculating, his mind always computing ideas that could make the family business even more successful. At the time I didn't know what exactly we did, but I knew we made a lot of money.
It became extremely clear, however, the kind of business we were in on the night of my 13th birthday. The small festivities had died down long ago, and Inuyasha and I were supposed to be in bed. However, I couldn't sleep. My mind kept racing on ways I could potentially impress my great grandfather. He never showed emotion, and Inuyasha had somehow pulled a smirk out of him, creating a rage in me so deep, it took everything I had not to approach my young brother in his sleep and snap his neck.
I stood from my bed and made my way to the kitchen, where I poured myself a glass of water.
Someone shouted. I turned towards the kitchen's doorway, standing still as possible. Someone shouted again, this time muffled words audible. I put the glass of water down and crept down the hall towards, what was then, my great grandfather's study.
I stood outside the door and pressed my ear to it.
"Did you really think I wasn't gonna find out that you've been building up your dynasty, Takahashi? Did ya think my suppliers wouldn't come to me and snitch on you and fucking ruin your plan? Answer me, Takahashi!" a man roared.
"Onigumo," my great grandfather's voice was calm, "did you simply come here to scold me, or do you have an objective for this confrontation?"
"My objective, you fucking traitor, is to say get the fuck out of my town, and don't ever come back. Take your kids, your grandkids, and make sure a Takahashi never sets foot back on my land, because if I see you or one of yours, they're dead. And trust me, you prick, trust me that I'll be the one to experience the gratification of spilling your blood."
My great grandfather laughed while clapping. "Oh, Onigumo! You always could give a good speech. You're charismatic, and you curse with such fervor! But," the chair creaked, and I knew he was standing up, "that's all it is. A speech. Words… Talk. I've worked with you for twenty years now, and all you do is talk, then have your bodyguards or lackeys do all the dirty work. But… where are they now? Where's your muscle, Onigumo?"
"Back down, Takahashi. You kill me, this whole town's coming for you."
"That right? Does this entire town include Mayor Mori? Does it include 7 of the 9 members of your personnel who have already agreed to jump on my bandwagon once I've eliminated you? Yeah, the other two guys were loyal, which is a great quality to have—good for them. And it's also what led to their death a mere hour ago. But don't worry. The 7 men who were disloyal to you and now loyal to me for now are extremely disposable, because let me tell you where you fucked up, Onigumo. You fucked up when you thought you could trust anyone but family. You can't trust me! I don't give a fuck about you! This town? It's mine. It always has been mine. And now I can officially say it because you'll be dead in the next sixty seconds."
"Takahashi, please—"
"My father gave me this knife. Has the Takahashi name engraved in it. I planned to pass it down to my son, but God knows where he ran off. And my grandson, InuTaisho, is 100 percent committed to our dynasty, he's the one who handled killing your loyal followers. But I'll be handing him my legacy, so this knife, I want to gift to one of my great grandsons before I die. And I don't plan to give it to them because my father gave it to me. No. I want to give it to one of them as a reminder of what I did to make our family the most powerful anyone has ever seen in the drug game. And that's killing you."
A short scream escaped Onigumo's mouth before only gargling noises ensued. I heard a thump, Onigumo's body dropping to the ground, and then my great grandfather's footsteps coming towards the door. I calmly and quietly hid myself on the side of the bookcase. The door opened then closed quietly as he left the room and made his way up the stairs.
I tiptoed back to the door and creaked it open. I saw Onigumo laying on the ground, has hands tightly wrapped around his neck from where blood gushed in pools down the front of his shirt and onto the burgundy carpet. His eyes landed on me and I felt frozen, both afraid and fascinated by the sight of the dying man, the life visibly draining from his eyes right in front of me.
"Sesshomaru." I didn't jump at the sound of his voice. It would show weakness.
It was my great grandfather.
"What are you doing out of bed?" He asked.
I turned to him, "I wanted to make sure you didn't need help," I said calmly, though my insides were shaking in a whirlwind of emotions.
My heart leapt at the sight of his smirk. He patted my head and said, "Don't worry. One day I'll need you. Run upstairs, now. I'll see you in the morning."
I nodded once and made my way up the staircase and to my room. I crawled in bed and stared at the ceiling. Though nightmares of the sight of Onigumo's corpse kept waking me up throughout the night, my great grandfather's smirking face always gave me ease and put me back to sleep. I had a goal: it was to please him, and follow in his footsteps, and the sight of a dead body, or further the prospect of killing someone coldly, couldn't frighten me ever again. One day I'd have to do the same.
Only a year later, my great grandfather gave me that knife on his deathbed. He had cancer—he'd never have the opportunity to truly see the dynasty he created flourish. His last words to me were to help my father maintain his sanity, and told me my father wasn't like the two of us, who were able to conceal our emotions perfectly. He told me to begin preparing to take over the dynasty, and to watch over Inuyasha, who wouldn't be able to manage the stress of the drug game. And that's what I'd been doing since he died.
"Sesshomaru?"
I turned in my chair in the kitchen, where I had allowed myself to zone out, and looked to my wife. I checked my Rolex and saw thirty minutes had passed.
"What are you doing, dear?" She asked.
I stood and placed a cool hand on her shoulder. "Inuyasha's drunk. I had to make sure he was alright."
She grinned at me, and I had to control everything inside of me not to express my deep regret over using her as a decoy. The smile she had, the one I fell in love with, had disappeared years ago. The one I saw now was forced, and I wasn't sure if she even knew it was.
I had ruined her.
And just seven years ago she was a completely different person. We met in business school—I was in my last year, she was in her second. She had just transferred and was extremely positive and happy and bubbly about being away from home and absolutely on her own.
We took Business, Government, and the Global Economy together, and I had noticed her immediately. She didn't speak much in class, but she was always cheerful. Initially her incessant positivity rubbed me the wrong way. Why was she always smiling? What made her so ridiculously happy all of the time? It wasn't until she decided to take a seat across from me at the library, much to my dismay, that I had the opportunity to really get to know her.
I had looked at her over the top of my book silently, hoping that my cold stare would scare her away. But instead, she grinned at me and whispered, "Hope you don't mind me sitting here. It's always so crowded everywhere but this area. There's like an invisible blockade that electrifies people. And you look lonely—like you might want some company. I'm Rin, by he way."
She must be socially inept if she hasn't caught on that I want her or anyone nowhere near me while studying, I thought to myself. But as I continued to stare at her coldly while she pulled out her books and highlighters, she maintained the comfortable smile that didn't seem to waver and started studying.
I took the opportunity to observe her beauty. She was petite with soft brown eyes and short hair that stopped right beneath her chin. She rummaged around her bag then abruptly looked up and asked, "Do you have a pen?"
I was so taken aback that I didn't hesitate offering her mine, though I had carelessly only brought one. Her bright grin returned as she said thanks, and the unthinkable occurred: my heart started beating faster. I had been in many situations where a fast beating heart would be deemed understandable, like having a gun pulled out on me or having to kill someone for pulling said gun on me, and even in those situations, I had been able to control my emotions and the pace of my heart… but in this moment? I couldn't get it to stop.
I slammed my book closed, causing several people to turn and stare at me. Rin sat with her brows scrunched together as I gathered my books, stood, and left the library. As I walked towards my car, mentally kicking myself for causing such a scene, I heard footsteps running behind me.
"Hey! Hey, wait up!"
I didn't. I hastened my steps, hating that my heart began to speed again just knowing that Rin was getting closer and closer.
"Sesshomaru, wait!" she shouted.
I paused. She knew my name?
Again I began picking up my pace, but she had already caught up to me. "Sesshomaru," she said, breathless, "wow, you sure do walk quickly! You left in such a hurry."
"What do you want?" I asked coldly, but she kept smiling anyway.
"Here," she said, holding out the pen I let her borrow. "You didn't get this back before you left."
"Well," I cleared my throat and reached for it, my fingertips grazing her hand in the process. I hated the way my stomach turned at the mere contact. "You could've kept it. Typically when one lends another a writing utensil, you never see it again. Isn't that how it works?"
She laughed, surprising me but also making me foolishly happy. I liked to make her smile. "Yeah, yeah it is. But it also has given me an excuse to come talk to you."
"What about?"
"Well," she said, drawing out the word cutely, "I wanted to apologize for running you out of your library nook. I know it's hard to find an official spot in there, and I feel like I took it from you."
"Not at all. The library is a public space—you're free to sit where you please."
"Really? Great, because, I mean if it's okay with you, I'd like to… I don't know, study with you. Like an unofficial study group. Did you know we take a class together?"
"Do we?" I asked, pleased that she also noticed me. I wondered how long she'd been looking at me in class, if she stared often. The thought made me smirk.
"We do. And your responses in class are always so thoughtful and interesting, I'd love to hear more of your opinions, and maybe you could help me get some of mine out. I'm terrified to speak during class."
"And why's that?" Was I actually having a conversation with this woman, and enjoying it? I wanted to know everything about her in this moment, and was honestly curious about the answer she was about to supply.
"I don't know, I come from a small town. I was the cliché big fish in a little pond, and now I'm here and everyone's so ridiculously smart, and I just… haven't found my voice yet."
"Hmm," I said, folding my arms over my chest, "well you're welcome to sit at the table whenever you please." I turned to leave, attempting nonchalance though I felt anything but.
"Okay," she called after me, "how about tomorrow at 6:00?"
I didn't go to the library on Tuesdays. It wasn't my routine.
I turned to her. "Sure," I said then continued to my car, heart finally slowing down when there was a substantial amount of distance between the two of us.
And from that point on, she and I would meet every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at the library. At first we'd just sit in silence, then she began asking questions that started as pertaining to class, but then veered into the personal, all of which I avoided. But she was persistent, and I eventually began to open up her to, like I had with no one else. Soon enough we were attending lectures together and casually going out to dinner afterward.
About 7 months into our relationship, I told her the truth about my family business, and she reacted the exact opposite of what I expected. She was excited, loved the idea of me being dangerous and teaching her everything I knew.
Her curiosity was too enticing; I knew she'd be the perfect decoy. I trusted and loved her, and she felt the same about me. And so she began seducing potential and regular clients, with her under my watchful eye to ensure no man tried to do her any harm. There were careful guidelines she had to follow: she always had to stay in public with the man or woman, and if the client requested some kind of privacy, it had to be on Rin's terms, thus mine, where cameras were present and I always had control over the situation.
It was perhaps three years into our marriage that I took a moment to look at her. She had transformed. Still beautiful, but the gleam in her eye that had captivated me in business school, that consistent smile and perky perspective on life—it was all gone. And now when she smiled at me as I sat in the kitchen, I knew she would never be that same girl.
Because in order for her to return to who she once was, to who I fell in love with, it would require me to change, and to give up the family business so she could have some kind of normalcy.
But even then, it might be too late.
"Sesshomaru," she said, resting her hand on my shoulder. The large diamond ring I used to propose to her sat on her ring finger, and it even looked lifeless and dull. "Come to bed. Inuyasha will be fine."
I took her hand and pulled her into my lap, making her giggle, and for a second I saw her again, my Rin, but she was gone just as quickly. "What Sesshomaru?"
What could I do to get her back that wouldn't require me giving up my dynasty?
I brought my lips to hers and kissed her. She returned it, sliding her hands up my chest until they rested, clasped, behind my neck.
I pulled away and continued to stare at her. She narrowed her eyes, "What's going on Sesshy?"
Sesshy. She hadn't called me that in months.
"I don't want you to decoy anymore."
"What?"
"I don't want you to do it."
She laughed humorlessly. "I'm getting too old, eh?"
"No, no," I immediately said, kissing her cheek in a rare form of sweet affection. She always loved that. "No, you're as beautiful as the day we met. I just…"
"What?"
"I want you to be happy again, Rin." I said, my monotonous tone never changing, but from the way she stared at me, her eyes gleaming with growing tears, I knew she understood how much effort the statement took.
"I am happy, Sesshomaru. I—"
"You're not. Don't try to convince me what I already know. I don't want you decoying anymore. I want you to put your degree to use. I want you to be a big fish in a big pond… I want you by my side, making decisions with me… overseeing that the Takahashi name doesn't diminish, and that we don't lose any of the power we've spent decades obtaining. I want you to be my partner in every sense of the word."
"Have you spoken to your father?"
"No, but I will. He'll be retiring soon, and despite what he believes is best, it will soon be my decision, and only mine."
"What about Inuyasha? He'll have a say, as well."
"Inuyasha will have no part in any decisions, dear. He's a boy who hasn't put in the time or effort, the pain, blood, or tears that I have. If he wishes to remain apart of this business, then he'll do as I say, and, soon enough, as you say, too."
A smile came onto her face, and, despite how small it was, it was the most genuine I'd seen in years. She leaned down and softly kissed me on the lips. "Come on," she whispered simply, "let's go to bed."
And as we walked up the stairs, and had the most passionate night since our wedding, I knew I had made the right decision. For that moment I forgot about tomorrow, when I'd have to hide all of my stress over Naraku's return, and poured everything I had into Rin, because she deserved it. She deserved all of me.
And just for that moment, I gave it to her.
A/N: And that was Chapter 12! Thanks for reading and please review! Next chapter coming soon!
